.40 vs 9mm...

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CATTLEDAWG

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
45
Just wanted to get opinions on personal favorites between .40 and 9mm from everyone...and reasons why...
 

MountainGator

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Messages
106
Location
Red Lodge, Montana & Gainesville, FL
Used to be cheeper ammo for 9mm. Probably still so but who really knows for sure. There now is 'decent' availability of 9mm, don't really know about .40. & I can fire 9mm from my convertable Blackhawk .357 Mag... can't do that w/ .40. imo, either one will work fine when really needed.
 

Mike J

Hunter
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
4,204
Location
GA
During this ammunition shortage it has been easier to find .40 than 9mm for me. I own 2 .40 caliber pistols & believe it is a good round. I would say if possible go rent or borrow a .40 caliber & 9mm pistol both in the same platform. Whichever you shoot better is probably the one for you. I actually bought a 9mm back in April & after a couple of weeks not being able to find any reasonably priced 9mm ammo had to go to the local overpriced gunshop & pay twice what the same ammo would have cost at WalMart to get some ammunition so I could shoot my new gun.
 

timjo1955a

Bearcat
Joined
Apr 15, 2005
Messages
25
Location
WV
My primary carry handgun is a G23. If I had it to do over again, I might have purchased a G19 to stock and use the same caliber ammo as my KP95. 9mm produces less recoil, especially in a light gun and ammo is cheaper. There are many good JHP options in both calibers.
9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .357 Magnum etc. have all been in short supply at the local Wal-Marts, but 9mm is still less expensive to shoot.
I have too much money invested in my G23(price of handgun, night sights, spare mags) to make selling it a viable option. Plus, I have gotten very used to it and it is now like an old, reliable friend.
 

Jumping Frog

Bearcat
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
90
In semiauto handguns, I reload and shoot 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP.

I shoot the 9mm for fun and competition. However, for daily concealed carry I use quality factory self defense ammo and my .40 or my .45.

Since I reload, ammo cost and and availability are a non-factor.
 

btrumanj

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
490
Location
Louisville Ky
I know many here will disagree but I've never been fully convinced the .40S&W is much if any, better than today's best loadings in 9MM. Also know a lot of you reload for it but I myself tend to be a bit leery of the .40. I'm gonna stick with the 9MM. :)
 

bandit320

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
11
I carry a 9 mm for CCW, but I think the 40 and 45 are more effective self defense rounds. Law enforcement agencies have the money and time to test various rounds and by and large they don't use the 9 mm. Here is a link that is a little different look on the effectiveness of rounds used in self defense. It tends to ramble a bit, but well worth the read.

http://www.gunthorp.com/Terminal%20Ball ... morgue.htm

Mike
 

Jumping Frog

Bearcat
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
90
bandit320":ovjmyexa said:
Law enforcement agencies have the money and time to test various rounds and by and large they don't use the 9 mm.
I believe it is more than just testing that led them to that conclusion. Most police agencies switched to 9mm in the 80's and 90's. After those agencies that switched accrued the data from thousands of shooting incidents between LEO and Bad Guys, many of those agencies have now transitioned a second time to a more powerful round like the .40 or .45.

In other words, it wasn't just ballistic testing in a laboratory. Officer involved shootings have crime scene analysis, data aquisition, and ultimately get fed into studies that analyze real world results. Those studies point out the issues with the 9mm.

Look at it this way. For an overly simplified example, assume I wanted to switch from a revolver to a semiauto, and I evaluated only two brands, Ruger and Glock. Which is slams the Glock more, if I: (a) look at both brands and select Ruger, or (b) start with the Glock, find problems, then switch to the Ruger?

Police agencies started with 9mm, found problems, and switched. That tells me something.
 

Rhino

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
15
9mm
40 S&W
45 ACP
Pick your poison they all are effective.

I for one will use any of the above because no matter how big or fast the bullet is, shot placement is the most crucial factor in the deployment of any firearm.

Regards.
 

welder

Buckeye
Joined
Sep 2, 2007
Messages
1,844
Location
western ky usa
9mm for me over .40. I carry a Glock 19 and shoot it well. I reload it and it seems to cycle in everything. Nothing against .40, but if I felt 9mm was ineffective I would use .45 or .357. Shot placement is paramount and I can pretty much always count on the 9mm to go where I want it to. That being said, I know others can say the same about .40. Try them both, (or others) and decide what you seem to shoot best. But most of all, practice shot placement, that's what it always comes down to really.
 

CATTLEDAWG

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
45
Don't ya'll feel as though rounds have advanced since the whole "9mm isn't effective" hyteria?...
 

tookalisten

Blackhawk
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
651
Location
NC
I own both, I like both, and would not want to be shot by either one.

My daughter and wife actually like the 9 mm better (SR9). I have to agree with other posts - shoot what is most comfortable and shoot often. Either will work fine.
 

Hoosier

Bearcat
Joined
Sep 4, 2009
Messages
18
Location
Indiana
9mm

Just yesterday I had a co-worker tell me that if you shoot someone with a 9mm (not knowing I own one) it will just make them angry and is very rarely fatal.

I told him to tape a target to his chest and we would test out his theory.
 

Russ7777

Bearcat
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
44
Location
Alanson Michigan
Mike J":1dc9rrto said:
During this ammunition shortage it has been easier to find .40 than 9mm for me. I own 2 .40 caliber pistols & believe it is a good round. I would say if possible go rent or borrow a .40 caliber & 9mm pistol both in the same platform. Whichever you shoot better is probably the one for you. I actually bought a 9mm back in April & after a couple of weeks not being able to find any reasonably priced 9mm ammo had to go to the local overpriced gunshop & pay twice what the same ammo would have cost at WalMart to get some ammunition so I could shoot my new gun.

Hi Mike I don't know what gun shop you are talking about, but allow me to defend the local gunshops and their prices. I agree that we can buy ammo a lot cheaper at wal mart, and the reason is simple; Walmart buys ammo by the hundreds of thousands of rounds, and because they are a major player, if not the major player, in the retail market, they can and do demand a lower price from the supplier. On the other hand the local gun shop buys ammo in the hundreds of rounds, and had to pay a premium price for it from their supplier. In many cases walmart can sell their ammo at a retail price that is less than the gun shop can get it at wholesale. So the gun shop has to charge more for the ammo to even break even on it.
I am like you; I want to buy ammo at a cheaper price, but I also think we need to patronize the local gunshop, or we will no longer have the local gunshop to visit, and do you really want to get your gun/ ammo questions answered by the clerk at walmart?
 

Mike J

Hunter
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
4,204
Location
GA
Russ there are 3 shops in this area. The one I am talking about it the closest. The last time I was in there they had a KelTec P-11 in the case marked 400 dollars. I went in once when I was shopping around for a gun. I walked through the shop & priced what he had (I had already been looking around so knew what I could get things for up the road (about 5-10 miles further away). I was walking out when one of the countermen asked me if he could help me. I informed him that they were overpriced. His response was "Pop will come down 50 dollars on anything in the store."
If I am going to hassle with dickering it is going to be to get a really good deal. I shouldn't have to dicker to get the same price everyone else in the area is charging. He sets up at gunshows with everything at this table 100 dollar off signs, everything on the table is overpriced 100-125 dollars. I understand about free markets & all that but I don't like that guy because I consider him a gouger. If I need something that I have to go to a gunshop for I go to the town up the road where the other 2 closest shops are. Or sometimes to another town in the other direction where the True Value hardware store owner sells guns & does gunsmithing.
 

Russ7777

Bearcat
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
44
Location
Alanson Michigan
Mike J":2ks0dnoa said:
Russ there are 3 shops in this area. The one I am talking about it the closest. The last time I was in there they had a KelTec P-11 in the case marked 400 dollars. I went in once when I was shopping around for a gun. I walked through the shop & priced what he had (I had already been looking around so knew what I could get things for up the road (about 5-10 miles further away). I was walking out when one of the countermen asked me if he could help me. I informed him that they were overpriced. His response was "Pop will come down 50 dollars on anything in the store."
If I am going to hassle with dickering it is going to be to get a really good deal. I shouldn't have to dicker to get the same price everyone else in the area is charging. He sets up at gunshows with everything at this table 100 dollar off signs, everything on the table is overpriced 100-125 dollars. I understand about free markets & all that but I don't like that guy because I consider him a gouger. If I need something that I have to go to a gunshop for I go to the town up the road where the other 2 closest shops are. Or sometimes to another town in the other direction where the True Value hardware store owner sells guns & does gunsmithing.

Yep he sounds like a gouger, so I would do my buying else where. At least you have three shops within close range.Hope you can find some ammo at a reasonable price.
 
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